If all of Leon's mental capacities had been at full strength, namely his infamous cynicism, he would have sworn she did it on purpose.
"If you'd stayed conscious, you would have seen we only hit seven feet deep water, right by the shoreline. But, no. You just had to go and get yourself hurt and now I've got to get you off the ship by hand."
It shouldn't have been future tense, considering he was already in the process of lifting and pulling her out the emergency top hatch. Blood was dripping down her forehead, into her eyes and below her cheeks. He tried to keep it back, but it was really starting to worry him, it just wouldn't stop.
He'd already pulled out both their weapons and laid them on the black rock sand beach. It was hard manhandling her up the hatch ladder, and as he stood on top of his ship, pulling upwards, he overcompensated, slipped, sending of them backwards off the metal ship and into the shallow waters. Leon rolled over, trying to get his breath back. He pushed lank dark hair out of his face and got his bearings. He found Paine face down in the water a few feet away. He stepped over to her and got on his knees, rolling her over and elevating her head. He lowered face, putting his ear new her open mouth and nose and prayed.
"Come on," he muttered, hoarsely, "This is your mission, not mine. Your holy crusade and I'm not going to do it for you. Come on, you're stronger than this. Wake up."
He pulled back and glared at her sleeping face. Pulling her up, he cradled her torso and tried to grasp her head, which flopped backwards. One hand under her back and one under her head, he shook her gently (at least, as gently as he could). He looked around, searching for anything that could help, but there was nothing. He looked down at her again and closed his eyes.
"I can't fight this battle for you."
She sucked in a strong breath and arched her beak, coming forward. He nearly dropped her in surprise, but managed to maintain his grasp. He wiped the last line of blood from her face.
Paine opened aching crimson eyes. The first thing she saw was black sky. The second thing she saw was a wet blank faced Leon.
Her mind felt muddy and slow and she tried to assimilate everything as quickly as possible but it was sluggish.
"We made it?" surprised. Leon nodded.
"Yeah. We made it."
He helped her to her unsteady feet. Lightning flashed and suddenly they were looking DOWN at the sky.
"This…could take some getting use to," Leon observed. Even upside down it wasn't hard to locate the huge Temple, the only structure on the whole surface of the planet. Walking took a little recalibrating, but they got the hang of it. They were a little over halfway there when the world righted itself again. Paine's stomach flipped a few times and she made a false step, throwing her balance off. Leon's arm shot out and caught her before she fell forward. Immediately, she regained her balance and backed away.
"Sorry, all the blood rushing to my head is-"
"I know."
It was silent the rest of the way, save for the barking of the sky.
From far away, the Temple had just looked large. Up close, it was MASSIVE. The high black wood façade faded into the back round, adding to its immense appearance. Paine felt like an insect in front of its ancient beauty. A gigantic round stained glass window dominated the front of the Temple, but it was impossible to see the design in the darkness. The doors were faded, but reached thirty-five feet high. Large, ornate silver knockers and knobs accented the black, but these were rusted and grimy. There were a few pillars still standing, but most had corroded into dust, leaving only a few misshapen remnants.
Paine gingerly reached out and grasped one of the door handles. She was sure it would disintegrate under her touch, yet when she pulled on it, she found it was still strong, and gave resistance. She looked up at Leon, with a silent question. He nodded, and together, they pulled the heavy mahogany door open. Dust exploded outwards as an air seal, not broken for centuries, disappeared.
The two warriors hesitated, staring into the absolute darkness. Paine felt a deep cold settle in the base of her spine. So dark, so deep, so silent. Leon was scrutinizing her, trying to discern if she could do it. Well, she would, if only to prove him wrong.
One moment more, then together, they strode into the darkness.
It wasn't as dark as it had at first appeared. There were windows, they were just covered with grime and dirt accumulated for centuries. This made it difficult to see, but light did shine through, giving the interior of the Temple an eerie tan sheen. Shadows crept up the walls, shifted and twisted. Leon's nerves were on edge, there was constant motion, making it impossible to detect what was innocuous and what could be dangerous. Paine, oddly enough seemed perfectly calm, not in the least uneasy. Leon wondered how she did it.
There were tables on both sides of the Fellowship Hall, with what looked like candles and food bowls. At one time, a feast would have been laid out here. Paine thought if she closed her eyes, she'd be able to hear the sound of people talking, conversing and laughing. This was a place where people felt safe, where they left their worries at the door. So what had happened to it?
At the end of the Fellowship Hall was another set of doors, not quite as large, but just as impressive. Leon and Paine strode up to it, having seen no other side doors. Again, they pulled together, but this time, the apparatus wouldn't budge. They strained against it, pushing and pulling. Finally, they stopped, exhausted and drained.
"Do you think it needs a key?" Paine asked, waiting for her breathing to level out. Leon's eyes were narrow.
"I've got the key right here," he muttered, raising his sword and bringing it crashing down on the door, which splintered into a dozen pieces. Paine shook her head.
"Thanks, I think we've just informed the Guardians that we're here. Well done."
Leon's mouth twitched, guiltily, but he just strode in. She followed behind him, her sword at the ready.
The room smelled stale and old, the air was still. It was oppressive, the kind of dark silence that made you face your own mortality. Paine felt her heart palpitate and in the deep silence, she was sure everyone could hear it. Leon looked at her sideways.
"It's alright," he said, simply. She gritted her teeth.
"I'm fine," she barked. Now, she couldn't see him at all, no light came in. Every time she took in a breath, she got a mouth full of dust. Memories, sharp and painful came at her, and she stopped. She didn't want to call, didn't want him to know she was nervous, but now she didn't even know where he was. She moved forward again, trying to press on.
She held her breath, almost choking. Her forehead itched, threatening to break into a sweat. She clutched her sword tighter. A noise off to the side made her tenser than she already was. She turned towards it, but direction had no real meaning in the absolute dark. Another noise behind her. She stopped moving altogether, and calmed herself.
Something grabbed her arm and she almost chopped it off. Her sword hovered above the appendage latched onto her, as her wrist was locked in place.
"It's just me," Leon informed her, pushing her sword away from his arm. She surprised herself by how relieved she was.
He kept his hand on her shoulder, and they kept going. It made her wonder whether it was for her benefit or for his own. Now she was in front, which meant she would be skewered first if something was waiting for them. Great, she thought, I'm a shield. She imagined his stony expression, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Who are you really trying to protect? Yourself or me…? The same question could have been asked of her, but she didn't think about it. The dimensions of the room probably weren't that large, but it was so dark, it seemed a long while before they ran into a wall.
Paine reached out with gloved hands, and felt along for a door handle, a window…anything to give them direction.
"I think I found something," she said eventually. Leon didn't answer, and she realized she couldn't feel him anymore.
"Leon?" she called, looking around (an exercise in futility). His voice came quietly out of the darkness.
"I think we have company."
His back was against hers and he was searching the black for movement. Paine turned, scrabbling for whatever she had felt. It seemed to be a door handle, and she pushed down.
She heard Leon yell as the floor gave way beneath them.
"It'd be like trying to warm an ice cube."
"No. It would be like trying to embrace a razor-sharp blade."
"A misogynistic arrogant-"He had the advantage. At least his head was pointed upwards. He could see her now, dimly. She was a little bit beneath him, in the opposite position, her head tilted towards the ground, making her fall faster. He could see her eyes were closed, but her expression was peaceful and calm. She seemed content to just…fall.
Well, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He looked around, trying to see handholds on the sides of whatever chute they were tumbling down. But what he could see of the walls—admittedly not much—showed them to be smooth, no crevices or indentations. He couldn't tell how fast they were falling, but the abrupt stop probably would likely be less than pleasant. He glanced at Paine again.
I should say something. Goodbye, at least.
But there were two problems with this. One: he wasn't ready to give up yet, and saying goodbye would be like admitting defeat, something he'd never quite gotten the hang of. And two…what would he say? His mind drew a total blank. Talking…another thing he'd never quite gotten the hang of.
Paine's snapped open. She twisted her body around, and saw her sword a few feet below her, falling straight down. She pulled in her arms, making herself straighter, and increasing her velocity. When she was close enough, she reached out and grabbed her sword. She swung her legs beneath her, bringing her huge sword up with her. With a grunt of effort, she rammed the blade into the wall, trying to stop, or at least slow herself down. Leon caught on and attempted to do the same thing.
He was a little more successful, catching his on the first try. With lightning reflexes, he jerked his arm down, and caught Paine by the back of her armor before she kept falling. Her sword was just scratching off the surface and she hadn't been able to lodge it.
They held there for a moment, in perpetual stillness: Him holding onto the Gunblade with one arm, the other below him, holding her now by a gloved arm. She looked up and gave a nervous smile.
"Nice catch."
"Don't mention it," he answered, breathlessly. They looked down at the same time. They had just made it. Another few feet and they would have splattered on the ground. Paine let go of Leon's arm and let herself fall the rest of the way. She hit the ground, rolled and got back up with barely a scratch. Leon pushed his foot against the wall, dislodging the Gunblade and landed on his feet. Paine rolled her eyes. Show off.
He gave her a self-satisfied smile and she glowered in return. Their minds returned to the business at hand as they examined their new surroundings.
It looked like they were in some kind of cave. They were standing on solid ground, but it was a thin strip of rock. A network of these tunnels and ledges crisscrossed over an open chasm that was so deep the bottom was obscured. Leon kicked a rock off the edge and they waited. No sound returned.
"Watch your step," Leon warned in mock seriousness.
"Watch yourself, or I may just push you," Paine shot back. He raised an eyebrow, trying to decide if she was serious or not. She moved past him, determined to press forward.
It reminded her of the tree roads of Macalania woods, the way they all connected. The paths were very narrow, only four feet or so across, narrower in some places. And there were hundreds of them, yet they all came to the same place.
On the other side of the cavern was a wide opening, too far to see from where Paine and Leon were. There was no doubt, however, that it was their destination.
Paine went first, it being so thin they had to walk single file. Somewhere, water was dripping, an incessant 'clinking' noise. Other than that, it was silent.
Paine tried her best not to look down. There were dozens more ledges and paths beneath and she'd probably hit one before she fell in the chasm, but it wouldn't help much. It was slow going, one false step equaling an inglorious death with a long drop for you to think of how idiotic you were.
They were almost all the way across when they saw the first one.
A Guardian.
It snarled at them, baring razor fangs. Leon had no doubt that these were the true keepers of the Stigmon, and he hoped Paine knew it, too. She seemed to have the right idea however, not immediately getting defensive. Instead, she put a hand out, a peaceful gesture.
"Please, wait. We mean you no harm. Your secret has been discovered and there are evil people coming to steal your treasure. Please, let us take it with us, to keep it safe. Please."
Her tone was docile and taming and for a moment, the gray creature seemed ready to back down. Instead, it raised its head and sent a low-pitched moan-scream into the air that bounced off the cavern walls. It was answered by dozens more voices, which was when Paine and Leon realized they were surrounded. Paine never took her eyes off the Guardian in front, though Leon's head swiveled all over, trying to gauge how many more enemies had just joined them.
"Don't make me hurt you," she growled, her eyes dark and narrow. It barked at them again, and rushed forward, razor claws outstretched.
"Fine," she muttered simply, raising her sword high above her head.
It was like a white flood. They came from all over, some crawling on the ceilings, some going up the walls, and jumping off stalactites, all screaming and growling. They came from all directions, converging on where Leon and Paine stood back to back. There were no fancy moves, no special techniques, it was pure hack-and-slash. They tried to move forward, cutting a path through the massive gray forms, but for every one they took down, it seemed that three more took their place.
The situation was made exponentially worse when the ground beneath them began to tremble. The Guardians stopped for a moment, thrown into a state of confusion.
Leon and Paine locked eyes. Silently, they said the same thing.
They're here. They found us.
Time was running out, they had to get to the Stigmon and get out before they were 1) ripped apart by the Guardians, 2) thrown into the abyss by the shaking earth (probably caused by one of the other teams using explosives to blow their way down to the Treasure room), or 3) killed by the Master's henchmen. No scenario sounded particularly enjoyable.
Paine and Leon used the Guardian's temporary confusion to leap over their heads and bolt for the opening. They made it in, and something closed behind them. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath. Outside, they could hear the creatures tearing at the stone door that had just dropped.
"It won't hold them for long," Leon observed, and motioned for them to keep going. All along the wall, a row of torches burned eternally, giving them plenty of light. Every few moments the ground would convulse, making them stop to maintain their balance.
The two fighters rounded a corner—and stopped. Another doorway lay open before them. Inside, they could just make out a golden glow.
The Stigmon.
Leon looked at Paine, who nodded. An especially violent explosion rocked the ground and the two were thrown forward, face-planting on the harsh rock ground. They heard the door behind them shatter and knew that it wouldn't be long before the Guardians would come pouring in. They struggled to their feet and made a dash for the Treasure Room. Just outside the doorway, Leon stopped. Paine halted and spun.
"Leon, what are you doing?" she demanded, as he turned towards the corridor. He turned his head to look at her.
"You go for it, I'll hold them off."
Paine swallowed hard as her eyes widened. She shook her head. Leon clenched his jaw.
"We don't have time to argue about this, dammit. They'll be here in a moments. This is YOUR mission, you have to finish it. I-when you get out, get to the ship and get off this cursed world."
Now there was something Paine could argue with.
"But I don't know how to drive the ship!"
"It's simple, just say her name and she'll do whatever you want."
Paine glanced down the corridor. Shadows had started to appear on the walls, thrown around by the firelight.
"But I don't know her name."
Leon didn't answer, he seemed to be struggling with something. Finally, he whispered, so low she barely heard him.
"It's Rinoa."
Paine wanted to ask the significance, but she knew now wasn't the time. Leon took a deep breath.
"Now, go. There's no need for us both to stay here, and to get the prize. I did my part: I got you to the Treasure Room. The rest is up to you."
But the prize belongs as much to you as it does to me, she wanted to say, but she knew it was pointless. There was no arguing with him once he'd made up his mind. The Guardians were getting closer, they'd be on them in a matter of moments. Paine looked over her shoulder. It was right there, RIGHT THERE. She looked back at Leon, staring into his fate.
Just do it, a voice whispered inside her. But first-
She rushed forward, covering the distance between them in three steps. In that time, he'd spun around. They met halfway, and embraced. He leaned down, bringing his face close to hers. It was a good kiss, but was over too soon, as a cry of a creature brought them screeching back to reality. He shoved her backwards, forcefully.
"Go."
She held his gaze a moment longer as the first Guardian rounded the corner, leaving deep talon marks in the wall. Then she turned and ran to the Treasure room. As she cleared the doorway, another stone door began to descend. He was still watching her as the gray slab lowered. Behind him, a swarm of Guardians ran, crawled and almost flew. Her face was a mask of torment and split-decision.
The last thing she heard before he was completely obscured by the rock was:
"Don't forget me."
Then she was alone. She took a shuddering breath and turned around slowly. The glow was brighter now that she was actually in the Treasure room. She took a few faltering steps forward. There was a raised area in the middle of the room, an altar it looked like.
She walked up the steps leading to the altar and found the chest on top of it. It was such a banal looking box, just a regular brown chest, made of wood and metal. There was no lock.
With trembling hands she lifted the lid and beheld what so much had been sacrificed for…
Coming up next:
THE FINAL CHAPTER